Introduce breathalysers at police roadblocks: Modi

Industry and Commerce deputy minister Raji Modi has called on the government to introduce breathalysers to test public vehicles drivers for alcohol at roadblocks and tollgates, adding most traffic accidents happening around the country were caused by drunken driving.

BY SILAS NKALA

Modi’s remarks come in the wake of an accident involving a South Africa-bound Brooklyn bus where 33 people were burnt beyond recognition when it caught fire suspected to have been caused by a gas explosion near West Nicholson along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road.

This accident came shortly after another horror bus accident claimed 50 lives in Rusape when two buses side-swiped.

Modi said government must make it mandatory for public service vehicle drivers to be tested for alcohol levels at roadblocks.

“Most of accidents on our roads are due to reckless driving, a good number of drivers will be drunk. I think, we need to introduce breathalysers at roadblocks and tollgates to test public vehicle drivers. This could help reduce the number of accidents on our roads,” Modi said.

Zapu spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa said his party was also worried by the increasing number of accidents on the country’s roads.

“The party calls on our drivers to exercise restraint on the roads, whose conditions have been deteriorating over the decades owing to neglect by the authorities,” Maphosa said.

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